The jaranon let out a screech that shook the woods. But Almark held on, using all his weight to hold the jaranon down until it perished.
Once the second jaranon became completely still, Almark finally got up. He spat out a glob of spit mixed with blood and turned to Tohrk.
“Thanks, Tohrk,” he said calmly. “If you hadn’t warned me and cast that spell, I would’ve been a goner.”
Still covered in blood, Almark flashed a hearty smile just as the sunlight shined down on him. As grisly as that was, he somehow looked gallant, like a knight who had just finished a battle. Tohrk was a little jealous.
“You said you’d handle it, but you really struggled against that thing,” Tohrk quipped. “Also, the first-year’s fine.”
“Thank goodness.” Almark flashed a carefree smile. “Tohrk, you called me by my name for the first time,” he said, his gaze tender. “That made me so happy.”
Almark was right. It had been in the heat of the moment, but truth be told, Tohrk still thought twice before doing it. He’d always avoided calling Almark by his name, feeling that doing that would mean acknowledging him as part of the class. His petty pride wouldn’t allow it.
Seriously, this guy… A shiver ran down Tohrk’s spine. He never stopped for a moment throughout this intense fight, and yet he had enough presence of mind to care about that. Dammit, he really is different from everyone else. He and Wollis are cut from the same cloth.
But at this point, Tohrk didn’t feel bad admitting that. The fact that he called out Almark’s name and Almark noticed it made him happy for some reason. Not that he would say that out loud, of course.
“I figured that was your name,” he said with a scowl.
Almark looked stunned. “Yeah, and you got it right. Almark. That’s my name.”
Seeing Almark nod earnestly, Tohrk could no longer stop himself from bursting into laughter. Almark seemed a bit surprised, but he soon smiled and walked over to Eldo, who was still collapsed on the ground.
“Is he hurt?” Almark asked Tohrk.
“Not that I can tell.”
Once Tohrk realized that Eldo’s life wasn’t in danger, he lost interest in the boy.
Almark checked to see if Eldo was bleeding. “Eldo,” he called. “Eldo, hang in there.”
Eldo moaned but still didn’t wake up.
“Eldo.”
Almark patiently called out to him, but he was so unresponsive that Tohrk, who’d walked over to check the jaranons’ corpses, returned.
“He’s not waking up?” Tohrk asked.
“I think he’s just unconscious…,” Almark replied, visibly confused.
“Does that monster secrete some kind of venom?”
“It shouldn’t.” Almark shook his head.
“Then why’s he still passed out?”
“I don’t know.”
But then, a gust of wind blew through the woods. Almark looked up.
“Professor!”
Illmis had appeared, staff in hand.
“Almark, Tohrk, are you two hurt?” he asked, gazing sternly at the two boys.
“We’re all right,” said Almark. “But Eldo…”
“What?”
Illmis kneeled next to them and picked Eldo up. He swiftly checked for any injuries and slid his hand, which glowed white, over Eldo’s body. Illmis’s expression slowly relaxed.
“The boy’s fine. He just exhausted his mana.”
“His mana?” Almark and Tohrk exchanged a confused look.
“The first-year girl who came to the schoolhouse with Garain and Deg… Cecily, was it? She said that a monster appeared in the field, and Eldo protected her by filling the area with fog. He told her to run.”
“…So that’s what happened.”
Looking down at Eldo’s still face, Almark recalled what the boy had said the other day.
“I really feel like I’ll be able to fill a whole room with fog soon.”
At the time, Almark thought it was just another case of a first-year exaggerating to boast about their progress, but it turned out Eldo wasn’t lying. He had used up all his mana and put his own life in danger to protect Cecily. He really was one of the talented geniuses accepted into the institute.
“He’s got skill,” Tohrk said, speaking for Almark. “Not everyone can pull off stunts like that.”
“True,” Almark agreed.
Almark had plenty of factors that helped him win. Morgan gave him prior warning, and he had the fighting techniques and knowledge of jaranons he acquired in the North. All of that helped him act swiftly. But what if he was in the same position as Eldo…? Would he have made the best choice to save a classmate’s life, even if it meant putting himself in danger?
“The kid made it sound like he was looking after you.” Tohrk said, looking at Almark. “Well, lucky you, I guess, having such a dependable first-year keeping you safe.”
“That’s right,” Almark said with a serene expression. “I still have a lot to learn from him. So I think I’ll let him look after me a while longer.”
Illmis inspected the jaranon corpses and turned to look at Almark and Tohrk. “Did you two do this?”
“…Yes,” said Almark.
“It was mostly Almark, Professor,” Tohrk added brusquely. “I didn’t do much.”
“I see.”
“That’s not true,” Almark cut in. “I wouldn’t have made it here without Tohrk, and the spell he cast in the middle of the fight saved my life.”
“Mhm.” Illmis rose to his feet. “So you both took part in this.”
Tohrk shrugged, scowling.
“But to think that two jaranons would show up here…” Illmis looked down at the dead monsters, his face grave. “You boys did well.”
“So monsters do appear in these woods,” Tohrk said.
Illmis nodded. “Only occasionally… Things must have changed this year, though, if monsters have come down to such a shallow part of the woods.” His expression turned grim. “I imagine we’ll conduct a thorough investigation of the woods and wipe out any monster dens in the area.”
“Please, let me help with that,” Tohrk said, but Illmis shook his head.
“Investigations are conducted by teachers and advanced division students. Elementary students are still too young for that.”
Tohrk frowned in displeasure until there came another gust of wind. More teachers appeared one after another.
“Tohrk, Almark!” Fia, their homeroom teacher, hurried over. “I was worried sick. You’re not hurt, are you?”
“We’re fine,” both said, to which she sighed with relief.
“Everyone else is worried, too. Come, let’s go back.”
“…Okay.”
Almark watched Selia, the institute’s healer, give Eldo some kind of restorative tonic. Then he began his trek back to the dorms. Tohrk followed quietly, but a few moments later, he pushed Almark aside.
“You stay behind me.”
Tohrk threw back his shoulders and walked ahead of Almark, who blinked in surprise.
“Why?”
“You spent all day running ahead of me.”
Almark tilted his head. This answer didn’t make much sense. Tohrk scoffed bitterly and strode forward.
Almark looked back at Tohrk and cracked a smile. “Fine, Tohrk,” he said. “You walk ahead of me, then.”
Tohrk clicked his tongue audibly in place of an answer.
Hidden among the treetops near the pit where Almark and Tohrk battled the jaranons sat one boy.
“I can’t believe Morgan saw the shadow. I suppose I must be getting careless,” Wollis said, watching the teachers hustling through the woods. “I don’t want to waste my time. I should exercise more caution.”
He dropped his gaze to the base of the tree he was sitting on. Lying there were the corpses of two jaranons, their throats ripped out by what looked like gigantic fangs.
“Still, there are so many monsters in these woods. The eddy of fate really is starting to churn.” Wollis dropped his voice; there was a hint of dark joy to it. “A dark wind blows from the north. Will it reach as far as Norkh Island, or…?”
Hushed by the rustling of the leaves, his words were heard by no one.